My Knight in Rags
by Fer Lyre
Summary: Lady Jessica finds the royal life hardly amusing until her Knight in Rags shows up...


Disclaimer: I do not in any way own the JQ team- they are property of HB.   
  
  
Wildflowers smothered the grounds around the palace, filling the air with a sweet aroma. Vines curled intimately around the gleaming white stone blocks of the palace itself. At one point, they all seemed to meet; the many different vines from many different places. They met around a lone window, covered in dust and cracked from age and negligence. The many vines took firm hold on the edges and competed against each other to curl onto the window itself. A soft breeze made the leaves quiver in excitement, for these vines; who had been staring into this window from the beginning of time itself, knew that something would happen to change the way things happened in this palace, forever.  
  
Travelling inside, past the dusty lone window, we meet a young girl. Standing in the center of the large room, she didn't move a muscle. She wore a lovely pale pink gown, which flowed down past her ankles and fell into beautiful folds. She held herself with an indisputable air of grace and elegance, allowing her nanny to flutter round her and make adjustments to her gown.  
  
''M'lady, tis nearly done. My, his Majesty shall be pleased with you, Young Firenae!''  
  
Firenae tilted her head to one side, as if trying to understand something.  
''Why, nanny? Why am I dressed in such finery today? Why is his Majesty to be pleased with the dress?''  
  
Her nanny looked quite flustered.  
''M'lady! Do you not know?''  
  
Firenae shook her head vigourously.  
  
Nanny was appalled.  
''Did no one tell you, child? You are to be offered as a bride to the Grand Prince Kaythor!''  
  
Firenae made a sharp sound. She pulled away from her nanny hastily.  
''NO!'' she screeched.  
''I won't go! You cannot offer me; like some cow, to be sold for a high price! Tell me, how many riches is father being offered for my hand in marriage?!''  
  
Nanny turned pink.  
''Now now child... you are not a cow on market; and your father is doing this for a better alliance between the two kingdoms. Prince Kaythor is soon to be king of Serles. This is for your own good, dear. Would you not like to be queen someday?''  
  
Firenae made a face.  
''I was HOPING to be queen of my own father's kingdom. And have you SEEN Prince Kaythor? I'm being offered because he's too ugly for anyone to marry him.''  
  
She made a choking kind of sob and fled from the room. She ran to her bestfriend's quarters and banged on the door. A number of high squeals came from inside and a lot of muffled noises could be heard. After a series of thumps and whispers, the door was swung open. A maiden with beautiful hair, a shade of such beautiful red, stuck her head out.  
  
''Firenae! Come in!''  
  
Firenae, forgetting her initial rage, shuffled into the room curiously. Jessica stood behind the door, clutching a bedsheet around herself. Her bed had been hurriedly made, though the sheets still looked rumpled. She gripped Firenae's shoulder and moved her hastily to the back of the room.  
  
''So... what brings you here at this hour?''  
Jessica's eyes darted to the side of the room; and Firenae just caught a glimpse of a young man stumbling over objects trying to flee the scene. Firenae looked at Jessica mischieviously.  
  
''What have YOU been doing?''  
  
Jessica gave a dignified sniff and started putting her dress on.  
''None of your business. So, why are you so anxious to see me, and why on earth are you wearing that dress? You look like you're about to attend a wedding or something''  
  
Firenae looked at her glumly.  
''You don't know how close to the truth you are''  
  
Jessica opened her eyes wide.  
''Really? Who's getting married?''  
  
''Me'', Firenae squeaked in a high pitched voice.  
  
Jessica gaped at her. Then she broke into flurry of questions.  
''And you didn't tell me??? I'm so happy for you! Who're you marrying? When are you doing the ceremony? How come you didn't tell before today?!''  
  
Firenae gave her a look that stop a man dead.   
''I DO NOT WANT TO GET MARRIED!!!'' she yelled, flinging herself on the bed. She started hiccuping sobs again.  
  
Jessica gave her an awkward sort of look and rubbed her back. She moved Firenae's hair from her face and gently wiped her tears. Understanding that this was a time that Firenae just wanted to cry pathetically and receive sympathy, she got up and started making tea to soothe the soul.  
  
''I--I am too young!'' Firenae sobbed in between hiccups.  
  
Suddenly, there was a sharp rapping on the door.  
  
''Damn!''  
Jessie hurried up with the rest of her dress and opened the door.  
  
A young man with two bags in each hand stood there, expectantly. He surveyed Jessica and smiled. She was pretty. Her hair looked quite unkempt by now, and she didn't have any make-up on. Her cheeks were naturally flushed from struggling with her dress and her eyes were huge; with her trying to act all innocent.  
  
''Tapestry? I uh- I do- uh.... I make tapestry... Tapestry?'',  
he mumbled pathetically.  
  
Jessica rolled her eyes. All the fuss for nothing.  
  
''No''  
  
She closed the door, but the man held it open with his hand. He looked surprised at his own actions.  
  
''My lady...''  
  
Jessica came closer and looked at him curiously. He had a nice manner of speaking. She liked his accent. His blond hair was slightly ruffled and his clear blue eyes gazed right into her emerald green ones. He wore a simple tunic and a thin coat sort of thing. He was sagging from the weight of the two bags and he looked quite tired. Yet he held the door open firmly.  
  
''What is thy name, good sir?''  
''Jonathon. Jonathon Robert Cliffe, son to Martin Cliffe and heir to the Cliffe fortune.'' he replied curtly, bowing before her.  
''Would you like a cup of tea?'' she asked softly.  
''My lady... I... it would be nice...''   
  
He smiled at her and took her hand, kissing it gently. She blushed; hardly any courtiers did these things these days. She opened the door to it's full extent and motioned for him to come in. She led him to a small room away from Firenae's sobbing figure. He glanced at Firenae while passing the bedroom.   
  
''Is she alright?'' he asked, his voice brimmed with concern. Jessica shook her head.  
  
''She's just a bit sick, that's all''  
''So'' Jonathan said, turning round to face Jessica again. She bumped into his broad chest by mistake and blushed furiously. Jonathan gave her a lopsided grin.  
''So, my fair lady. You never told me your name''  
  
Jessica backed off a bit and looked up at him.  
''Jessica Stella Bannon, daughter to Sir Roger Bannon and Lady Estella Velasquez''  
  
''A pleasure my lady... a real pleasure to meet you'' Jonathon whispered, kissing her hand again.   
''Tea?''  
''I'd love some''  
''Make yourself at home''  
  
Jonny seated himself on a comfortable two-seater couch. He inspected the room's pathetic tapestry. *Nothing done by real artists* he noted in disgust. He looked at the other paintings and wallhangings around. There was one breathtaking painting of a girl in a green dress, seated upon a couch with a young man of her age. They held hands and gazed at each other with a great deal of love. The girl, Jonny recognised as Jessica. The same fiery red hair and intense green eyes. He wondered who the boy was. He looked remarkeably like Jonny, but it obviously couldn't be him. Jonny leaned back, smiling, looking over the painting again. Wouldn't it be nice if it were him? He imagined a world in his mind, a world with him and his newly found dame....  
  
''Tea''  
Jessica came in with a tray of tea. Jonathan carefully took a cup and gulped it down immediately. Jessica hadn't even taken her first sip. She stared at him.  
  
''Ummm... would you like some more?''   
Jonathan shook his head.  
  
''I should be leaving now... Thank you, my lady''  
''Jessica, please''  
''Thank you, Jessica''  
  
He smiled and reluctantly rose up. Jessica hurriedly put her cup down and went to open the door for him. He gave her a departing smile and heaved up his bags again. As he trudged down the corridor, Jessica felt her heart sink a bit. She was amazed; did she actually like him? She bit her lip. He was slowly disappearing into the distance.  
  
''JONATHAN!''   
  
He stopped abruptly. Did she actually call him, or was he just hallucinating? He turned slowly, hopefully. Yes, there she was. She was running towards him on the balls of her feet. She reached him soon, flushed with embaressment and exhaustion. He set his bags down quickly and caught her in his arms as she nearly tipped over. He gazed down at her expectantly. She didn't bother extracting herself from his arms. She smiled meekly at him.  
  
''You never showed me your tapestries''  
Jonathan let out a hoarse laugh.  
''Thought you didn't want to see them''  
''Well, now I do''  
  
He shifted his weight and balanced Jessica on his right side while picking up the bags. He walked back to her quarters slowly with his arm around her. He sat down in the sitting room again and unpacked his bags. He spread out many different tapestries of many different origins on the floor. Jessica, however, seemed more interested in Jonathan than the tapestries. Jonathan didn't care about the tapestries any more than she did. They sat together on the floor in companionable silence.  
  
''Jonathon; do you make tapestries all day? Or do you work as something else as well?''  
Jonathan shook his head.  
''I was actually hired by Sire Dorthsbew. I am the royal tapestry maker and nothing more, I'm afraid. You my lady, you must be much more than just a lady-in-waiting?''  
  
Jessica flashed her teeth at him.  
''What makes you think that?''  
''Well, you, unlike most ladies in this court, can run quite well and if I am not mistaken, you are quite athletic and artistic''  
''Artistic?''  
''I have seen your paintings of beasts and men in the main court. Your work astounds me. I used to stand and gaze at those paintings long before I knew you''  
Jessica blushed.  
  
''Thou art generous with thy compliments, Jonathon. And you are not mistaken; I am one of the royal artists assigned to Imperial Portraits''  
''Aaah, then we share the same love of art'' Jonathon smiled and kissed her hand again.  
  
''Jess?'' a weak voice called from the doorway.  
Jessica turned to see Firenae clutching the doorframe. Her face was pale, her hair stringy and her cheeks shone with tears. Not one of her most picture-perfect moments, Jessica thought. Jonathon hastily got up and knelt before Firenae. Sometimes Jessica forgot her best-friend's superior position in the court.  
  
''Your Highness. Forgive me for awakening you. I have been having a talk with Lady Bannon here. I shall be ready to leave in a few moments''  
  
Jessica made a strangled sort of noise.  
''NO! Don't leave!''  
Jonathon bowed again.  
''As you wish, my lady''  
Jessica pouted. She hated formality; she's almost worn Jonathon's off, and here it was, back again.  
  
''Jessica... I neeeeeeed to taaalk to yooooou...'' Firenae whined miserably.  
Jessica motioned for Jonathon to wait and hastily ushered Firenae to the other room.  
  
Pushing Firenae in, Jessica closed the door behind her. Firenae whirled round and smacked Jessica on the cheek. The sound of her hand striking Jessica's cheek resounded around the room. Jessica gave a huff of disbelievement and grasped Firenae's wrist in her hand and twisted it. Firenae let out a sharp gasp of pain.  
  
''Get your hands off me!''  
''What did you DO THAT for?!?!?!'' Jessica raged.  
''How dare you bring in a man and entertain him while I am completely miserable and crying because of a problem with my family and my future husband??''  
  
  
Jonathon bit his lip nervously. He heard the sound of a slap clearly and guessed that the Princess had slapped Jessica. He felt horribly guilty.. because of him, Jessica had to go through this. Ofcourse, he was guessing that it was about him. He decided to pack up his bags again, just in case.   
After what seemed a brisk, heated conversation, both women stormed out of the room and went off in different directions. Firenae stomped out the door and Jessica flew into the other sitting room, the one opposite to the one Jonathon stood in. He sat down and waited a bit, twiddling his thumbs, playing with bits of frayed cloth from his coat.  
Finally, he heaved himself up and knocked softly on Jessica's door which was now closed firmly. There was no response. He tried the door, and pushed it open, finding it unlocked. Jessica lay on her stomach with her face buried in a pillow. He looked at her uneasily. What was he supposed to do now? Comfort her? He didn't have to answer his own question, as Jessica turned around to face him. She wasn't crying and there weren't any traces of tears on her cheeks. Her face was just a bit red from the yelling.  
  
''Sorry my lady, I thought you were crying''  
''And what, you came to see?''  
''No, I was merely concerned''  
  
Jessica thought for a moment. Well just because she wasn't crying didn't mean she didn't need comforting.  
  
''Very well... thank you''  
She patted the empty space beside her on the bed.  
''Sit''  
Jonathon obeyed. He sat very tentatively on the edge of the bed, keeping his hands to himself. Jessica smiled; The scaredy cat. She ''walked'' her fingers up his arm and ran them back down again. He swiped at her hand and grasped it firmly in his.  
  
''What happened?''   
Jessica sniffed defensively.  
''You wouldn't be interested- believe you me'' 


End file.
